The Tibetans only discovered that one squad was missing at night. Once they discovered it, they didn't just discover that one squad was missing, they also discovered that the number of patrols in various places was missing. If someone was able to calculate the losses in these few places, they would get a number, twelve.
Twelve teams of patrols disappeared just like that. No one discovered the corpses, and no one saw the horses. The Tibetans didn't seem to care too much about the sudden disappearance of sixty people. After all, they didn't go to other places to ask. If they lost a team, it was very likely that they had encountered a pack of wolves.
Such situations were very common in the bushes and mountains. After being ambushed by more than ten wolves, those with slow reactions wouldn't have the chance to run back. The most frightening thing was to dismount and let the people and horses rest while they were being surrounded.
Of course, there was another possibility, and that was that someone had found the fleeing commoners and was eating and living with them. This kind of situation wasn't rare. If someone wanted to investigate, they would say that they had found traces of the enemy and had been following them for a day.
No one suspected much on this day. However, if there was no reaction when a team was missing, then for three consecutive days, there would be people missing every day. Furthermore, the previous team hadn't returned yet. Then, there would be something wrong.
Zhang Ying and Zhang Lang searched for three days but still couldn't find the Tang army. Shui Yun flew with all her might. Other than searching for the Tang army, she also had to report the Tibetans to her master. After that, it was up to one eagle, two dogs, and two people to cooperate in battle.
Usually, the eagle would swoop down from behind the enemy, grabbing one with his claws and biting one with his beak. Zhang Ying and Zhang Lang would shoot with their crossbows and arrows. The remaining person would be left to the two dogs. One would be responsible for pouncing down from the horse while the other would be responsible for biting the throat.
Both were in a team of five, but Zhang Ying's team was always able to find the enemy before they ambushed. The Tibetans, on the other hand, were always unlucky.
In three days, Zhang Ying's team of five dealt with forty teams of Tibetans. In total, they had a total of two hundred people. They also obtained two hundred horses. Luckily, there were many horses in the place where the two of them lived. They knew how to keep the horses, otherwise, it would be difficult to control them.
This time, the Tibetans finally realized that something was wrong. Since the teams of cavalrymen were missing, it definitely wasn't as simple as encountering a pack of wolves or finding a woman.
As a result, the originally scattered cavalry began to shrink, and the five teams became ten teams. This action was effective. Although they still couldn't find the person who launched the sneak attack, they weren't attacked for a day, and the number of people who went out returned the same.
However, after only one day, there were more teams that did not return. This time, ten people and ten horses disappeared in one go.
After Zhang Ying and Zhang Lang realized that they couldn't cooperate with each other to wipe out the ten-man team like before, they thought for an entire day and finally came up with a plan. Zhang Lang or Zhang Ying would change into Tubo clothes and find a hillside to dig a trap. Then, one of them would shout from the front to attract the ten men.
When all ten of them had fallen into the trap, or when some of them had fallen into the trap, the two of them and their animals would work together to eliminate the others. On this day, they used the same method to deal with three groups of people in the same place.
When they were dealing with the last group of people, one of them reacted quickly. He ran out on a horse and prepared to go back to report. Unfortunately, no matter how fast he reacted, his horse couldn't outrun an eagle. With a dive, he was finished off.
On the sixth day after Zhang Ying and Zhang Lang arrived in Tubo, they finished off another four teams. The two of them led their 265 horses and no longer continued to fight with the Tibetans. They continued to head north.
Out of the five horses, four of them fell into the trap and were buried. The last one had five 'people' killed to solve its food problem.
The Tubo people were already confused. Just how many people were attacking them? Could it be that the main force of the Tang army was here? Only if the number of scouts was five times more than the Tibetans would they be able to kill all of them.
As a result, the focus of the Tibetans' search returned to the area where Tatatatu was ambushed. There were still ten teams of scouts, but there was another team behind each team. They were not far away and could vaguely see the people in front of them. This way, if something happened, they could shout loudly or see it with their own eyes.
*****
Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao led the team to rest for a few days. All the rice was harvested and harvested. They treated the local people much better than before. Furthermore, by badmouthing the Tibetans, they guided the people to talk about how they were bullied. This made the people hate the Tibetans even more for stealing their things and raping their wives and daughters.
They hanged the heads of two villages. These two village heads had bullied the people in their villages together with a certain tribe of Tubo. They also divided the things in the village heads' houses. This made the people feel relieved.
Wang Juan also asked the doctors who treated the people to talk about how good Yizhou was and how happy life was there. They told the single men that there were beautiful women in Yizhou who liked men like them. They also told the old people that there was a place specially prepared for the old people in Yizhou.
If they had children, they would tell them that all the children in Yizhou could learn to read and write without spending money. To single women, they would tell them that there were many capable men in Yizhou who wanted to marry women like them very much. They would not even let go of their children. After giving their children some rock candy to treat illnesses, they would tell them that there were many more delicious candies in Yizhou.
The local people gradually surrendered under such brainwashing. They looked at the Tang army. How good were they? They didn't rob the people's things, raping the women in their families, and eating the hearts of the children. They even helped to work and treated the people's diseases.
Of course, they didn't know that when the logistics camp of the Tang army first arrived, they slaughtered a village.
On this day, Wang Juan saw that the wounded people had almost recovered. Those who were seriously injured wouldn't die easily on the road except for those who died. She prepared to lead people to create an opportunity for the local people and the people in charge of logistics to escape back to Pengzhou.
In fact, there was another way, but Wang Juan didn't plan to let the people use it. It was not a good way to go.
After dawn, Wang Juan began to make preparations. They would start the operation at night. Those who needed to sleep slept, and those who needed to tidy up their things. The last batch of clothes was also washed. When they were dry at night, they would wear them. The smell of blood was much stronger than before.
At noon, a small black dot appeared in the sky. It seemed to be attracted by something below, so it lowered a lot. When the people in the village saw clearly that it was an eagle, it turned around and flew away.
Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao also saw the eagle. They felt that there was something wrong with the eagle's movements. The two of them took a closer look with their binoculars, but they couldn't see what was wrong with it.
Thirty li away from the village, Zhang Ying and Zhang Lang were waiting with their two dogs. There were another twenty horses in the team, but the two of them were wounded. They encountered a group of ten Tibetan cavalrymen in front and back. As the horses were too obvious, they were discovered.
In a situation where they couldn't hide, the two of them first used the horses to charge. Then, they abandoned the crossbows and used the bows to shoot at the Tibetan cavalrymen. They ran out of arrows, used up the two muskets, and shot out arrows. They won the battle with knife wounds and arrows on their bodies. Even Qian En's head was cut by a knife, revealing the bone. It stopped bleeding and lay in its owner's arms.
Shui Yun was released to check if there were any enemies chasing after them or in the surroundings. In the end, Shui Yun found the Tang army's clothes that were drying in the village. After circling around to confirm, she rushed back.
After Zhang Ying and Shui Yun had a simple conversation, he happily said to Zhang Lang, "Let's go, we found our men in front. Quick!"
As he spoke, he carried Wan En onto the horse. Zhang Lang also carried Qian En. The two of them led the 285 horses and headed towards the village in front.
The distance of thirty li was less than two hours if the horses galloped at full speed. When the two of them were about six li away from the village, the members of Team Zero, who were in charge of guarding, saw them.
When a tree fell, the people observing from behind did the same thing. When Zhang Ying and Zhang Lang were five li away from the village, the people in the village had already made their preparations. The clothes that were hung up to dry began to be collected and the people went into the cellar.
The people in charge of guarding in front were thinking of ways to hide themselves.
Therefore, when Zhang Ying and Zhang Lang ran to the village, they were dumbfounded. The village was peaceful. A child was playing in the mud by the river outside, an old man was squatting by a big rock outside the courtyard, and a woman was standing outside the fence with a basin of washing clothes in her hand, chatting with another woman inside.
"Shui Yun, where are the Tang soldiers?" Zhang Ying looked at the scene in front of him in a daze. He suddenly doubted his eagle training skills. Could it be that there was a problem with communication?
Shui Yun had seen it when it was in the sky. The people were all hiding, but it could not speak and could not express itself so clearly. It looked at Zhang Ying and then at the house of the person who had just taken the clothes in. It cried out anxiously.
Fortunately, there was not only one Ying in the team. There were also two big dogs with sensitive ears and smell. They were also smarter. They barked at the house at the same time.
Zhang Ying turned around and glanced at Zhang Lang, as if to ask if his dog had discovered something.
"There are people." Zhang Lang only said two words.
Actually, Zhang Ying did not need him to say it. He also knew that there were people, and there were many of them with weapons in their hands. The two people who had seen them came out one by one.
"Don't do anything. We are the villagers of Zhangjia Zhuangzi in Sanshui County. We are now part of the logistics camp in Yizhou. Look, this is the proof."
Zhang Ying saw that the person in front of him was holding a powerful crossbow that he also owned. He lifted the Tubo's clothes and revealed the rice seedling pattern inside.
At the same time, he showed the gun at his waist. Perhaps he felt that it was not enough. He opened his backpack and showed the binoculars, compressed biscuits, and commonly used medicine to the other party in case the other party's hands trembled and shot an arrow.
Looking at the scattered items, the other party put down the crossbow. They were on the same side. They were indeed on the same side. Outsiders would not be so well-equipped.
When Zhang Ying and Zhang Lang heaved a sigh of relief, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan stood out. They looked at the two people and found that they did not recognize them. Zhang Xiaobao asked doubtfully, "You are …?"
"Little Master, Little Lady, I am Zhang Ying. He is my brother Zhang Lang. We are the brothers that Steward Song helped to take in."
Zhang Xiaobao and the others did not recognize Zhang Ying, but Zhang Ying knew the two of them. There was a portrait and he had already remembered them.
Zhang Xiaobao remembered and nodded happily, "I know, I know. One knows how to train eagles and the other knows how to raise dogs. It really is the two of you. Did you encounter any danger on your way here? Quickly get off the horse and have a good rest."
"Little Master, Little Lady, we finally found you. It's good that you are fine. Our family is worried, and so is the imperial court. Little Master, Qian En is injured. Let the doctor take a look at it. We can't let it die of illness. It was not easy to raise it.
It killed so many Tibetans. "Zhang Lang was in tears. He jumped off the horse with Qian En in his arms and brought it to Zhang Xiaobao.
Wang Juan looked at the dog raised by the other party and was envious. This dog looked fierce, but when it was held in the other party's arms, it felt its owner's attitude and its eyes became gentle. It was a good dog. It was almost as good as the dog she saved on Lu Zhou's mountain. That dog was smart, but this dog must have been trained.
The doctor quickly rushed to the front. He treated the dog and stitched it up. He also checked the injuries on Zhang Ying and Zhang Lang.
The horse was taken away and hidden. Zhang Ying and Zhang Lang were treated while they talked about how they came here.
"Little Master, Little Lady, you are really amazing. You went to the front line in the name of the logistics camp to provide reinforcements. Then, you led the army to fight on Jin Chuan and killed more than 13,000 enemies. You successfully escaped the encirclement of the Tibetans. No one could find you.
The family was both happy and worried. They were afraid that you would lose a pair of eyes, so they sent me and my younger brother here. My younger brother and I received the order and went to the military station. We rushed to Pengzhou seven days ago and searched for you for seven days before we found you. Little Master, Little Lady, with Shuiyun here, we will definitely be able to return safely. Should we leave immediately? "
Zhang Ying meant that they should leave now and go home. They could not stay in Tubo. It was too dangerous.
"There is no hurry to go home. It was not easy for me to rest and reorganize. If I don't teach the Tibetans a lesson, how can I face the people of Wangjiang? How did you get through these seven days? Where did you find the horse? "
Wang Juan did not intend to go back. When she took over the troops, they did not have much morale left. Furthermore, they were not in good condition. At that time, she was able to lead the troops to victory. Now that they had rested for a period of time, how could she leave so easily?
Hearing the young lady's question, Zhang Ying began to talk about how he and his younger brother sneak-attacked the enemy during these seven days, how they searched, and how they were injured when they were 30 miles away.
Many people gathered around to listen, including Guo Tu and the others. They all looked at the two injured people in front of them and listened to the calm story without much passion in their tone. However, their hearts were stirred up with monstrous waves.
Guo Tu looked at the surrounding generals and whispered, "No one in the Zhang family is normal."
All the generals nodded in agreement. The two young fellows sent by the Zhang family were able to command the troops to go in circles with the enemy. After two big circles, they eliminated a large number of Tubo people. Their losses were minimal. This was fine. After all, there might not be a single ruthless person in a thousand years.
However, looking at the two people sent by the Zhang family, in seven days, just the two of them killed 290 Tubo people and brought back 285 horses.
According to this, there was no need to use the main force. If the Zhang family had nothing to do, they could just send two people out every few days. The Tubo people would probably be wiped out in less than a year.
After Zhang Ying finished talking about his and his younger brother's experience, he realized that the gazes of the surrounding people had changed. They were filled with respect and admiration. Huzi went forward and sized up the two of them. He grinned and said, "Good, good.
You didn't weaken our reputation. Let the Tubo people know that they can scheme against anyone but us, the Zhang Family and Wang Family. Otherwise, even if they are thousands of miles away, they will still have to bear the consequences of revenge. Any one of us can take care of them. How did you sell these eagles? You gave one to each of us in the Miao Protection Team and raised them for fun. "
Huzi's words sounded reasonable at the beginning, but his intentions were exposed at the end.
Zhang Ying was also honest. He replied, "Eagles like the Cloud Water are rare. Usually, it costs about 600 strings of cash to raise them. Some people raise them cheaper. If you don't spend too much money to catch them, you might be able to use them as hunting eagles with a few dozen strings of cash. Mine is a war eagle.
I raised it specifically for the young master and young lady. From the time I got the Cloud Water to the time it could fight together, I spent more than 1,000 strings of cash. The Cloud Water is bigger than other eagles. It can easily grab an adult and fly in the sky. When I came here, I thought about it. If I see the young master and young lady, and if we are surrounded, I will let the Cloud Water grab the young master and young lady and break out of the encirclement. "
As he spoke, Zhang Ying took out a few tags from his backpack and introduced them, "The Cloud Water is very smart. It can fly to designated places. There are two tags for each type. When I bring the Cloud Water to a place, I just need to throw down a tag. If the Cloud Water needs to fly there by itself, I will take out the other tag for it to see.
When it sees the tag, it will know where to fly. At first, it could only recognize one type of racket. Now, it can recognize six types of tags. The Cloud Water has worked very hard. Wing Province is too far from here, and the mountains are too high. I didn't dare to throw the tags to others, so I put one in Pengzhou. The Cloud Water can go back at any time. "
"Haha, the Tibetans are dead for sure. Good eagle, you have done a great service. Stay here and help us kill the enemy." Zhang Xiaobao laughed, but his voice was childish. There was no imposing manner in it.
Wang Juan also looked at Zhang Ying and the Cloud Water with satisfaction. Of course, the one she was most satisfied with was Song Jinggong. He had left the two people behind. Who would have thought that the two people who were about to starve to death back then would have such ability?
Wang Juan knew that the Cloud Water was very useful. In a time like this where there were no advanced communication methods, the Cloud Water could help to pass information back and forth. If the Pengzhou side found an opportunity to send troops, they would tell her side, and the two sides would cooperate.
The Cloud Water's reconnaissance ability was like the hot air balloon in the past, floating in the sky to command. In the beginning, the Cloud Water was used for reconnaissance. Later on, it developed into shooting with pistols.
Wasn't this just a simple military satellite? Not to mention 1,000 strings of cash, it was worth 100,000 strings of cash to raise one.
After everyone was done being happy and shocked, Zhang Ying took out an imperial edict. He looked at Guo Tu and the others and said, "Guo Tu, accept the edict."
Guo Tu and the others were stunned. They had a bad feeling in their hearts.
As expected, the contents of the imperial edict dealt a huge blow to Guo Tu and the others. They were stripped of their official positions, and at the same time, were asked to go back to receive their punishment. The position would be taken over by either Zhang Xiaobao or Wang Juan. If the two of them didn't lead troops, and someone else did, then that person would take over.
It was written very clearly in the imperial edict. If it was either Wang Juan or Zhang Xiaobao, then in addition to taking over the position of real power, they would also be given the title of General of the Army, a lower second rank official. If Zhang Xiaobao obtained this position, then Wang Juan would be conferred the title of a second rank imperial lady. If Wang Juan obtained this position, then the rank of a sixth rank official that was originally given to Zhang Xiaobao would become a lower second rank official, Jin Ziguang Lu Daifu. The two of them would have to prepare their own clothes and ceremonial rites, and they wouldn't be rewarded with money or cloth.
Guo Tu was both envious and afraid. He could see how much the imperial court valued these two children. If the commander was changed, there would only be real power and no other official, and they would only be rewarded when they returned. However, it was different when it came to these two children. There seemed to be an endless supply of second rank official, one for each of them.
It was useless to be envious of others, it was better to think about oneself.
At this time, Zhang Ying added, "There is also a saying. Xiao Bao, Cuckoo, you two children quickly come back. If Lishi wants to recognize Xiao Bao as his adopted son, then do it when we return to the capital. Don't run around outside. The wind on the mountain is strong, and it's cold and cold. If you don't listen, come back and beat me with a plank."
When Zhang Ying said this, the surrounding people gasped. Everyone was shocked by the emperor's attitude towards the young master and young lady. Most of the emperor wouldn't say this to his own son, right?
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were also stunned. The two of them didn't expect Li Longji to have such a cute side.
"Xiao Li is really a good person. Even if he is pretending, he rarely pretends in front of others. Once these words spread, I can be a dandy in the future. Let's see who dares to provoke me."
Xiao Bao whispered to Wang Juan.
Wang Juan nodded, "Then we can't go back. Xiao Li's words are worth the lives of ten thousand Tubo soldiers. We can't let him say it for nothing."
Guo Tu was speechless. What was this called? He thought about himself and knew that if no one spoke up for him, then once he returned, he would be finished. He didn't dare to run, and he couldn't run. His family was still in the capital, and how could he run out of this village?
The emperor could just send two people to deal with him, and the eagle called Shui Yun was watching from the sky.
When he thought of this, he set his eyes on Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. He didn't want to seize power, and he didn't want to take revenge on others. The emperor had personally said that he wanted them to go back quickly, and he even showed a caring expression.
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